Asia Cup 2018: 5 best batsmen in the tournament

Asia Cup 2018 ended in an enthralling fashion and Team India successfully defended their title to claim their 7th title in 14 editions. In the modern era where 350+ totals are becoming a norm in the ODI format, not even a single team scored more than 300 in the entire tournament.

On slow and spin-friendly UAE pitches, batting was tough compared to other parts of the world. But few batsmen played out of their skin to seal victories for their teams. Few terrorized the opponent's bowling attacks, some took their team out of troubled waters and many had career-best individual knocks.

Mohammad Shahzad, Shahidi, Ambati Rayudu and few others had a very good tournament but based on match situations and other factors, they didn't make it to my top 5 list.

#5 Mohammad Mithun : Innings - 6 / Runs - 137 / 50s - 2 / Avg. - 22.83

In the tournament opener against Sri Lanka, comeback man Lasith Malinga rattled through Bangladesh's top order and took a couple of wickets in the first over itself. Even Tamim Iqbal got injured and retired hurt. Then came Mithun, who joined hands with M Rahim and stitched a 133-run fourth wicket partnership which helped Bangladesh to commence their tournament on a winning note.

Again against Pakistan in a virtual knockout match, he delivered with a gritty 60 and had a 144-run match-winning partnership with Mushi. Apart from these two innings, he didn't score many runs in the remaining innings but these two knocks are enough to earn him a spot on this list.

#4 Shoaib Malik : Innings - 5 / Runs - 211 / 50s - 2 / Avg. - 70.33

Pakistan's crisis man Shoaib Malik once again played an excellent hand in his team's middle order. He took Pakistan to a last over win against Afghanistan in the super four stage. Even against Bangladesh, when Malik was at the crease, Pakistan were in with a chance. In both the games against India, he rescued his team from bad starts and after his departure, they succumbed under pressure.

--> Malik's 70.33 is the second best batting average in this edition.

#3 Rohit Sharma : Innings - 5 / Runs - 317 / 100s - 1 / 50s - 2 / Avg. - 105.67

England v India - 3rd ODI: Royal London One-Day Series

'Hitman' had a superb tournament with the bat with 317 runs in just five innings at 105.67. He played some marvellous shots, especially against pacers and built aggressive opening stands with Dhawan.

He had a couple of fifties against Pakistan & Bangladesh and had a scintillating ton versus Pakistan in the super four stage.

--> 13 - No. of sixes by Rohit Sharma in Asia Cup 2018.

#2 Shikhar Dhawan : Innings - 5 / Runs - 342 / 100s - 2 / 50s - 1 / Avg. - 68.40

England v India - 3rd ODI: Royal London One-Day Series

For the fifth consecutive time, Shikhar Dhawan ended a multination (5+ teams) tournament as the leading run scorer for Team India. He scored 342 runs with a splendid 102.09 strike rate. He had hundreds against Pakistan & Hong Kong.

Since his debut, Shikhar Dhawan has played in five multination (5+ teams) tournaments. And in all these series he has ended as the leading run scorer for India. He scored 363 runs in Champions Trophy 2013, 192 runs in Asia Cup 2014, 412 runs in ICC World Cup 2015, 338 runs in Champions Trophy 2017 and 342 runs in Asia Cup 2018.

#1 Mushfiqur Rahim : Innings - 5 / Runs - 302 / 100s - 1 / 50s - 1 / Avg. - 60.40

1st Momentum ODI: South Africa v Bangladesh

In this edition, Mushfiqur Rahim rescued Bangladesh with a couple of career-defining knocks. First, he scored a majestic ton against Sri Lanka which helped his team to post a winning total. Again in a do-or-die match against Pakistan, he scored 99 gritty runs to help them post a winning total again.

Undoubtedly, this was Mushfiqur Rahim's best tournament with the bat in his entire career.

--> 55.17% - Mushfiqur Rahim's contribution in Bangladesh's 261 against Sri Lanka, the highest for a Bangladesh batsman.